Nisha Katona,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 23 October 1971) is a British chef and TV presenter. She is the founder of Mowgli Street Food restaurants and the Mowgli Trust charity, a food writer, television presenter, she was a child protection barrister for 20 years.

Career

Katona worked full-time as a child protection barrister for 20 years on the Northern Circuit. In 2008 the Department of Culture, Media and Sport appointed her trustee of

National Museums Liverpool National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The museum is a non ...

and in 2009 she was appointed by the Cabinet Office, Ambassador for Diversity in Public Appointments. She then switched to teaching about Indian cuisine. She founded Mowgli Street Food restaurants in the UK, and also founded and chairs th
Mowgli Trust
which donates over £300,000 to local and world charities every year. Katona is the author of 4 cookbooks: ''Pimp My Rice'', ''The Spice Tree'', ''The Mowgli Street Food: Authentic Indian Street Food and The 30-Minute Mowgli''. Her fifth book, ''Meat Free Mowgli'' is due for release on 8 November 2022. She regularly appears on television and radio including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Food Network, and Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet. On 1 January 2022, Katona was appointed

Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University The Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University is the titular head of the university who is appointed on the approval of the board of governors. The duties of the chancellor include the conferring of degrees at graduation ceremonies and bein ...

. She is the first alumni of the University to become Chancellor and replaces Sir Brian Leveson who will become Emeritus Chancellor. In July 2021, Katona was selected to join the newly formed Hospitality Council, a team of leading industry experts assembled to deliver the government’s Hospitality Strategy. The strategy aim's to help hospitality firms to re-open, recover and become more resilient following the pandemic.

Earlier life

Nisha grew up in

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...

. She studied at

Scarisbrick Hall School Scarisbrick Hall School is a mixed private school, located in Scarisbrick Hall, Lancashire, England, that educates children from nursery to age 18. History Scarisbrick Hall is a 150-room mansion built between 1830 and 1860 by the architect Aug ...

and then read law at Liverpool John Moores University, where she also met her future husband

Zoltán Katona Zoltán () is a Hungarian language, Hungarian masculine given name. The name days for this name are 8 March and 23 June in Hungary, and 7 April in Slovakia. Zoltána is the feminine version. Notable people * Zoltán of Hungary * Zoltan Bathory, ...

. Nisha qualified as a barrister at the Inns of Court School of Law in 1996, and is a member of Lincoln's Inn. Katona worked full-time as a Barrister in Liverpool's Chavasse Court Chambers. In 2008 the Department of Culture, Media and Sport appointed her as a trustee of

where she sat on the full board, along with Audit and Marketing. In 2009 the Cabinet Office appointed her Ambassador for Diversity in Public Appointments.

Television

Katona films regularly for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

and

The Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. ...

. Appearances have been on

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

Sunday Brunch ''Sunday Brunch'' is a British television programme presented by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer. It is broadcast live on Channel 4 on Sunday mornings and features cookery and interviews with celebrity guests. Format The programme began on 25 Ma ...

, Secret Chef,

My Kitchen Rules ''My Kitchen Rules'' (often abbreviated as ''MKR'') is an Australian competitive cooking game show broadcast on the Seven Network since 2010. The show is currently hosted and judged by chef Manu Feildel, who has appeared in every season of the s ...

, My Spice Kitchen and her own Indian food travelogue for the BB
Recipes that made me
She regularly appears as guest chef on This Morning - ITV, guest panelist on The Kitchen Cabinet - BBC Radio 4, and on BBC and Sky News as a guest expert on matters relating to business and hospitality. On 14 February 2021, a 10-part culinary travel series called A Taste of Italy premiered on

and

More 4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

, and presented by Katona. On 16 March 2021, she was a guest judge on the Interior Design Masters semi-final in which the designers made over a pair of restaurants in

Hebden Bridge Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England. It is west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden Water. The town is the largest ...

. On 13 July 2021, Katona was one of the professional chefs on ITV's Cooking with the Stars. The six part series saw her train her celebrity partner (Harry Judd) in preparing dishes which were then judged. In the final episode

Harry Judd Harry Mark Christopher Judd (born 23 December 1985) is an English musician, dancer and author. He is the drummer for the band McFly. Judd won the 2011 series of ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Judd published his first book, ''Get Fit Get Happy'', in ...

was named the winner. On 10 August 2021, Katona appeared as guest chef on BBC 1's Masterchef, challenging four celebrities to cook an Indian recipe from her menu. On 6 September 2021, it was announced that Katona will be one of the members of the new judging panel of ''

Great British Menu ''Great British Menu'' is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four-course banquet. Format Series one and two were presented by Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, where ...

'' joining former GBM champion

Tom Kerridge Thomas Kerridge (born 27 July 1973) is an English chef. After initially appearing in several small television parts as a child actor, he decided to attend culinary school at the age of 18. He has since worked at a variety of British restaurants, ...

, and comedian and food podcaster

Ed Gamble Edward Stephenson Jamison Gamble (born 11 March 1986) is an English comedian, known for co-presenting ''The Peacock and Gamble Podcast'' and his regular appearances on ''Mock the Week''. He studied at Durham University, where he began his come ...

Books

Mowgli Street Food: Stories and recipes from the Mowgli Street Food restaurants

The Spice Tree: Indian Cooking Made Beautifully Simple

Pimp My Rice: Delicious recipes from across the globe

The 30-Minute Mowgli: Fast Easy Indian from the Mowgli Home

Meat Free Mowgli: Simple & Delicious Plant Based Indian Meals

Restaurants

Awards and honours

* Best Companies Awards 2021 - The UK’s Top 100 Best Large Companies to work for - Rank #28. *Casual Dining Awards 2020 - The Trailblazer of the Year Award. *Honorary Doctor of Business Administration - Edge Hill University (2019). *Honorary Fellow - Liverpool John Moores University (2019). *MBE - (New Year Honours 2019) Honoured for services to the food industry. * The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders, 2019. *The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 2019 - Best Emerging Brand Award. *The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 2019 - Best Management Team Award. *The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 2019 - Rank #45. *The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 2018 - Rank #17. * Retailers’ Retailer Winner 2018 - Emerging Concept. * Wireless Social's Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, 2018. * Business of the Year, City of Liverpool Business Awards - 2018. * Best Medium Sized Business, North West Business Masters Awards - 2018. * Maserati Top 100, People's choice

References

External links

Official Website

Mowgli's WebsiteMowgli Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katona, Nisha 1971 births Women chefs British people of Indian descent British television chefs People from Ormskirk Chefs of Indian cuisine Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire